A bowl of comfort with a kick.
Created during one gnarly week in the Northeast, on the cusp of a March snowstorm. A soup recipe too good to ignore. Too tasty to keep to myself. So here it is- from The Gluten-Free Goddess Recipe Archives…
The word wicked does not even begin to cover it. Epic… might be a start. Massive… might be an understatement. The snow, you see, is record breaking. One might even say, crazzzzzy. It’s enough to make a big dog weep.
In (previously) typical fashion, one might be tempted to throw up one’s hands in defeat and shout, Let the carb cravings begin! But I might actually be in the mood to defy such cravings, yipping and gnawing inside my belly like so many tiny, quivering chihuahuas. Tugging my attention to mocha frosted vanilla cupcakes.
I might actually choose, instead, to grab a big pot. And start a batch of hearty, soul mending soup.
And living- as we did for three decades- on Cape Cod, you might guess I rustled up some classic clam chowdah. Or lobstah bisque. Nope. Instead, my inspiration comes via Wellfleet village. A gluten-free, cooking lighter take on a New England Portuguese mainstay.
Kale soup. With andouille.
It’s the perfect, spicy soup to brave this stuff called SNOW.
And in the meantime, keep those fairy lights lit. Gather some candles. And know I’m counting with you the lengthening days till Spring.
That’d be 25.
Or 175 in dog years.
Woof.
Karina’s Rustic Kale Soup Recipe with Spicy Chicken Sausage, Gold and Sweet Potatoes
By Karina Allrich March 2013.
Traditional caldo verde features white potatoes- and more of them. I used sweet potatoes and Yukon golds. I also skipped the onions and added fire roasted tomatoes. Just because.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon good olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes
4 gluten-free spicy chicken sausages (ours had jalapeños)
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 large gold potato, peeled and diced
1 14-oz can organic fire roasted diced tomatoes, with juice
1 32-oz carton organic chicken broth (low sodium if desired)
1 bunch organic kale
Sea salt and ground pepper, to taste, if needed
Instructions:
In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes; stir for 1 minute.
Quarter the sausages lengthwise; then slice into pieces. Add the sausage to the oil; stir and render the sausage for 5 minutes, until browned.
Add potatoes, diced tomatoes and broth; cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, and simmer, covered for 10 to 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, wash the kale, shake off the water and tear off the tough stems. Tear larger pieces into small pieces.
When the potatoes are tender add the kale to the pot and lightly simmer, covered, until the kale is tender and wilted- about 10 to 15 minutes.
Taste the broth and season with sea salt and ground pepper, if needed.
Serve with my tender Gluten-Free Corn Muffins or warm from the oven Gluten-Free Dinner Rolls.
Serves 4.
Recipe Notes:
We used gluten-free, nitrate-free chicken sausages with jalapeños because we love the spicy kick of jalapeños with sweet potato. But you could use traditional Andouille pork sausage or chorizo in this kale soup- just make sure it says gluten-free on the label.
To make this vegetarian- use vegetable broth and skip the sausage. When potatoes are tender, add a (drained) can of cooked white northern beans and warm through.
If you cook it longer and it becomes too thick, add more broth, if needed.
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